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It’s only been a few weeks since David O. Russell‘s Madden film started shooting, but there are already rumors of tension and frustration on set to add to the ledger. Over the years, the American Hustle and Amsterdam director has earned a reputation for flying off the handle both on set and off, with reported tirades directed at George Clooney and Amy Adams, and an incident with Lily Tomlin on the set of I Heart Huckabees that was captured on video. He also reportedly physically attacked Christopher Nolan at a party in 2003, among many other disturbing allegations. Vulture has a good rundown here, but the outlet may have to add a few more bullet points.
TMZ reports that an unnamed actor quit the Madden production after just two weeks due to multiple conflicts with Russell. The outlet says it spoke with five members of the cast and crew who confirm that Russell said the n-word while working with the actor on a monologue, which upset the actor. Amazon MGM Studios denied the claim, suggesting that it was actually the actor’s idea to use the word in the monologue. The studio further claims it didn’t make it to the final cut of the scene, and insists Russell never said it at all while shooting.
TMZ‘s sources also claim that the same actor took issue with a locker room scene involving full-frontal nudity, which allegedly caused Russell to have an “unprofessional” reaction. Amazon once again denied the claim, suggesting that an intimacy coordinator tried to make the actor more comfortable through different blocking, but the actor was still upset. The studio also stressed that actors were aware of nude scenes well in advance, and the concept wasn’t sprung on anybody.
The door is apparently still open for the unnamed actor to return, but a different source characterized the whole production as a “mess” regardless. Both stars Nicolas Cage (John Madden) and Christian Bale (Al Davis) have allegedly gotten a bit too into their Method acting techniques, causing some tension for the rest of the cast. Of course, the studio denies this as well. Whatever’s going on, there’s a decent chance this won’t be the last we hear of it.
